Drug Education News

Health Education Research has a paper on how young people view alcohol, tobacco and marijuana. The researchers have found that the:
use of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana was directly related to moral perceptions: those considering use as ‘wrong under any circumstance’ were less likely to be users than those who considered it ‘ok under some [...]

Unicef and the Terrence Higgins Trust are urging people to get in touch with thier MPs to support the idea that PSHE be made a statutory part of the cirriculm.
Unicef say:
Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) promotes the emotional, social and health development of children and young people and is vital in equipping them with [...]

The Independent askes “Is smoking cannabis really that bad for you?”:
Yes…

There is convincing evidence to suggest a link between heavy use and serious mental illness
Cannabis smoke is just as dangerous as cigarette smoke in causing lung disease
Driving while even mildly stoned significantly increases the risk of fatal accidents

No…

There is no evidence that cannabis causes physical [...]

Young People Now report on funding for Drug Action Teams:
Funding problems at the Department of Health have contributed to a lower settlement for drug action teams than had previously been agreed.
Although the 2006-07 budget of £394.6m is an increase of over 30 per cent, a 42 per cent increase had been agreed in the 2004 [...]

The BBC report comments from Liberty Director Shami Chakrabarti who was expressing concerns about the government’s planned national child database: “
‘If children learn to live with constant surveillance, random drug testing and sniffer dogs in schools, what kind of citizens will they become?
‘Two dangerous trends collide in the debate about children’s privacy.
‘On the one hand, [...]

The government have produced a new resource for drug education, aimed at key stage 3 pupils:
This pack aims to support the Government’s drive to ensure all young people understand the risks associated with cannabis and includes information and guidance for teachers, classroom activities and a leaflet for pupils. Although this pack is not available until [...]

All Headline News suggest that a Swiss distributor is looking to begin selling iced cannabis tea through British health food shops:
Sold under the label ‘C-Ice Swiss Cannabis Ice Tea’, the beverage contains five percent of hemp flower syrup and a tiny (0.0015 percent) quantity of THC, the active ingredient of marijuana.
According to the AFP report, [...]

Home Office are consultating on the targets and Public Service Agreements for Spending Review 2007:
The Government is currently putting together its plans for the 2007 Spending Review. This will determine the key work programmes, the framework for Public Service Agreements across government and the funding levels for public services between 2008/09 and 2010/11.
As part of [...]

The Times cover the remarks by Antonio Maria Costa of UNDOC, and asume he is refering to Britain:
The decision by Britain to downgrade cannabis to a Class C drug was criticised by the head of the United Nations anti-drugs agency as “fundamentally wrong” yesterday.
Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and [...]

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction press release on trends in magic mushroom consumption by young people across Europe has this to say:
Prevalence estimates on the use of magic mushrooms in the EU are considerably lower than those for cannabis, but are similar to those recorded for ecstasy. Surveys among school students [...]